#6 Returning NCAA Points: Arizona State
#6 Returning NCAA Points: Arizona State
Who is returning the most NCAA points from the 2017 wrestling championships? We look at all the college teams and see who is returning the most firepower for the 2017-18 season. Up now, the No. 6 team, the Arizona State Sun Devils.
The upcoming NCAA season may only seem like a distant ship's smoke on the horizon during these long summer days, but that doesn't mean it's too early to start speculating about the 2017-18 season. But to start speculating, we'll need some information first. Just the basic facts.
To get a better idea of what we might see next season, we took a look back at the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships. We compared all the Division I programs by how many team points were earned by their underclassmen to see who will be returning the most firepower for the 2018 tournament.
Teams 11-20 | No. 10 Virginia Tech | No. 9 Lehigh | No. 8 Iowa | No. 7 Minnesota | No. 5 Missouri | No. 4 Michigan | No. 3 Oklahoma State
Arizona State coach Zeke Jones and staff qualified four freshmen and a sophomore for the 2017 NCAA Tournament. As such, they lose no NCAA points to graduation. They also benefit from some addition by subtraction, specifically by subtracting the three penalty points Jones lost his team during Tanner Hall's third-place heavyweight bout with Virginia Tech's Ty Walz, which would explain why Arizona State scored only 39 points at last year's tournament.
Technically, Jones returns next year as well, but we're leaving those penalty points for lack of control of the mat area off the tally anyway.
Besides their five 2017 NCAA qualifiers, Sun Devil fans can also look forward to the addition of former Northwestern national champion Jason Tsirtsis in the lineup. What's left unsettled, however, is how all those middle weights are going to share mat time next season.
FloWrestling's Ryan Holmes took a crack at how things could look in Tempe next year, with the prevailing theory being that the Valencia brothers and Josh Shields could move up a weight, leaving Josh Maruca and Tsirtsis to man 149 and 157, respectively.
Also joining the ASU varsity team next year is Ryan Millhof, who redshirted last season following his transfer from Oklahoma. Millhof would be the fourth returning All-American on the team, joining Zahid Valencia, Tsirtsis, and Hall.
Millhof and Tsirtsis will provide some veteran experience for an otherwise young Sun Devils squad that will look to make noise at many NCAA tournaments to come.
One of the biggest matches in recent Arizona State history was Zahid Valencia's quarterfinal victory in St. Louis, guaranteeing himself a spot on the podium as a redshirt freshman. You can watch Valencia make the semifinals over Michigan's frosh phenom Myles Amine in the video below.
We'll take a closer at the No. 5 team next, so stay tuned. Until then, stay comfortable but not necessarily numb, as we you can expect to see plenty more NCAA content coming through in waves.
To get a better idea of what we might see next season, we took a look back at the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships. We compared all the Division I programs by how many team points were earned by their underclassmen to see who will be returning the most firepower for the 2018 tournament.
Teams 11-20 | No. 10 Virginia Tech | No. 9 Lehigh | No. 8 Iowa | No. 7 Minnesota | No. 5 Missouri | No. 4 Michigan | No. 3 Oklahoma State
No. 6 Arizona State: 42
The Sun Devils may not have discovered the secret to life, the universe, and everything, but they do return an eye-popping 42 points from last year's tournament.Arizona State coach Zeke Jones and staff qualified four freshmen and a sophomore for the 2017 NCAA Tournament. As such, they lose no NCAA points to graduation. They also benefit from some addition by subtraction, specifically by subtracting the three penalty points Jones lost his team during Tanner Hall's third-place heavyweight bout with Virginia Tech's Ty Walz, which would explain why Arizona State scored only 39 points at last year's tournament.
Technically, Jones returns next year as well, but we're leaving those penalty points for lack of control of the mat area off the tally anyway.
| WT | NAME | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 149 | Josh Maruca | 1 |
| 157 | Josh Shields | 2 |
| 165 | Anthony Valencia | 3 |
| 174 | Zahid Valencia | 18.5 |
| 285 | Tanner Hall | 17.5 |
Besides their five 2017 NCAA qualifiers, Sun Devil fans can also look forward to the addition of former Northwestern national champion Jason Tsirtsis in the lineup. What's left unsettled, however, is how all those middle weights are going to share mat time next season.
FloWrestling's Ryan Holmes took a crack at how things could look in Tempe next year, with the prevailing theory being that the Valencia brothers and Josh Shields could move up a weight, leaving Josh Maruca and Tsirtsis to man 149 and 157, respectively.
Also joining the ASU varsity team next year is Ryan Millhof, who redshirted last season following his transfer from Oklahoma. Millhof would be the fourth returning All-American on the team, joining Zahid Valencia, Tsirtsis, and Hall.
Millhof and Tsirtsis will provide some veteran experience for an otherwise young Sun Devils squad that will look to make noise at many NCAA tournaments to come.
One of the biggest matches in recent Arizona State history was Zahid Valencia's quarterfinal victory in St. Louis, guaranteeing himself a spot on the podium as a redshirt freshman. You can watch Valencia make the semifinals over Michigan's frosh phenom Myles Amine in the video below.
We'll take a closer at the No. 5 team next, so stay tuned. Until then, stay comfortable but not necessarily numb, as we you can expect to see plenty more NCAA content coming through in waves.